Artist: Goatflesh / Bestial Abyss
Country: Ukraine / USA
Label: Unpure Records
Formats: Split CD
Year: 2026
At the Unpure Records HQ, they must have devised a good way to start the year. And what better way to kick off a fresh new year than with a release of a split with two blunt-force kind of bands on January 1st? Ukrainian band Goatflesh and the lads from up-and-coming Bestial Abyss have joined forces for a joint 20+ minute merciless beating. The ones into the Bestial Black/Death Metal will definitely be chuffed to bits.
Honestly, not because either of these bands are the best in the game or top of the league, but just because they both deliver the goods without any unnecessary bells and whistles. First up is Goatflesh, perhaps the best example of this sort of band not doing anything earthshattering but just being good at what they’re doing. These Ukrainians deliver their take on the Bestial Black/Death Metal genre in traditional fashion with respect to the old gods. Which means it is not too far removed from Blasphemy, Beherit and the likes, it’s just a tad more Death Metal oriented and surprisingly less chaotic too. A bit on the slow side and slightly uneventful, but certainly a very entertaining listen.
Church bells! Bestial Abyss starts their side of the split with a rather long intro consisting entirely of the slow tolling of church bells. Although that’s about as original as a red logo on black-and-white artwork, the fact that these guys are back with a song that’s almost nine minutes long did raise an eyebrow. But, honestly, this only song on this split recording doesn’t feel that long at all. The devil’s advocate will probably say that this is because if they were all separate songs, it would have sounded like one long, drawn-out slog. And, to be fair, that’s not far from the truth. But actually, that doesn’t do justice to “Sulphurous Eden-Infernal Liturgies Of The Abyss” and the band as a whole. The band’s earlier recordings already showed that these sophisticated gentlemen know what they are doing and deliver their unpolished sonidos in a surprisingly memorable way. The interplay between crushingly slow sections and more standard fast parts, along with the dynamics in between, ensures that this lengthy track never becomes tediously repetitive. Although Archgoat never seems far away, partly due to the stomping staccato drums and the grinding nature of the riffs, Bestial Abyss has sufficient internal strength and skill to stand on its own.
